When the Cat in the Copycat Was a Dog
Artist
Jim Melchert
(American, born 1930)
CultureAmerican
Date2016
MediumBroken and glazed porcelain tiles; picture mounted on foam core
DimensionsOverall (each): 29.3 × 28.5 cm (11 9/16 × 11 1/4 in.)
MarkingsSigned Jim Melchert
DescriptionThe work consists of four industrially produced ceramic tiles and one photograph. Since the early 1990s, the artist has worked principally with pre-fabricated tile, generally breaking it and adding glaze in response. Melchert, having been a prominent figure in the Bay Area conceptual art world, has long employed chance operations and rule-based systems in his work. In this piece, the abstract pattern of breakages and glaze derive from the photo included with the work.
Credit LineGift of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York; Hassam, Speicher, Betts and Symons Fund, 2018
Photographer credit: Renée Melchert Thorpe
Object numberG18.4.1a-e
Classifications
Modern and Contemporary CeramicsSub-classification
AmericanCollections
Status
Not on viewArtist / Maker: Minton
c.1880
Object number: G91.3.108
Artist / Maker: Claudius Innocentius du Paquier Factory
c.1740
Object number: G83.1.1230